United We Stand
by LionessOfTrebond
Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts, the four houses have turned against each other. It's up to Eve Sterling and her friends to put things right and bring the houses together into a single, unified Hogwarts. Featuring all-new characters, set shortly after the epilogue to the last book. No big spoilers.
1. 4:00 PM -- Aug 3, at 29 Cherry Lane

4:00 PM - Aug. 3, 29 Cherry Lane

I got my Hogwarts letter.

I really didn't believe it at first. None of us did. It happened when I was having a quick snack after getting home from a day of summer camp. I was sitting in the dining room, looking out the front window, when something caught my eye. A flurry of purple came spinning out of nowhere up at the street corner. My brain rationalized that a person must have been running and whipped around in a sharp turn, but that theory was quickly shot down when the figure stayed stationary, with no apparent loss of balance. The person quickly glanced around, then headed down toward my house. Upon further examination, I could see that the person was wearing a dressy black jacket over some sort of flowy purple dress. I wondered if someone was hosting a fancy party tonight. The well-dressed woman seemed out of place walking down quiet little Cherry Lane on a weekday afternoon. Maybe she had gotten lost?

As I watched, the woman kept walking calmly and assuredly down the street. When she reached our house, she stopped. I lost sight of her as she climbed the stairs to the front porch, but a few seconds later I heard the doorbell ring.

My mother was busy upstairs, so I figured I might as well go ahead and answer. Besides, I was pretty curious by now about the mysterious, well-dressed stranger who had spontaneously appeared on our street and wanted to talk to us. I got up, brushed the cracker crumbs off my hands, and went to open the door.

A slim woman stood facing me. She had a sharp chin and sparkling eyes that looked like they had seen plenty of mischief and didn't want to be seeing any more of it from you, thank you very much. She automatically struck me as a teacher or tutor of some sort, though I have no idea how I could tell.

"Is this the residence of Eve Josephine Sterling and her parents?" inquired the visitor. She spoke with a proper British accent in a way that seemed to demand a response. I flinched at the use of my middle name. I have always hated that name, and to hear it from a proper British lady who randomly showed up at my house was a bit of a shock. At that moment, I probably should have been wondering how she knew it, and how she knew where I lived, but that didn't bother me. This teacher lady just seemed like the sort of person who would know things.

"You're talking to her right now," I managed to reply. "Hello."

"Well, Miss Sterling," said the woman, "I have some information, a message, and a letter for you. Are your parents here?"

"Yes," I said, thinking that it was not only true, but also the right response anyway when a stranger shows up at your door. "My mom is upstairs, but I think she's busy."

"I think she might like to hear this. It's a very important message, concerning your future prospects."

This lady was starting to get on my nerves. Who did she think she was, carrying a vital message that would affect my "future prospects"? She was probably just some door-to-door saleswoman selling SAT prep workbooks. "Can I just have the letter, please?" I asked.

"If you insist," she said. "But I do want to make sure your parents are informed as well."

The teacher lady reached into her jacket, and took a lavender envelope out of a pocket. She hand it to me.

Before I opened the letter, I started to examine it. First, it had a big red wax seal on it. What kind of fancy shmancy organization puts wax seals on their letters, anyway? Something starting with an H, it looked like. That crest did look familiar, though. It had a lion in one of the quadrants: Harvard? No, there were other animals, too. A snake, a bird, some sort of furry animal…

Suddenly, recognition hit me. It was a letter from Hogwarts.

I laughed out loud. "Are you kidding? You came to give me a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Alright, who put you up to this?"

The woman looked affronted. "Do you mean to suggest that _I_, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, would take my orders from some… some prankster?"

I stifled a giggle. "Sorry, Professor McGonagall, ma'am," I said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm _ever_ so pleased to meet you. I'm sure you would _never_ pull any sort of pranks. My very deepest apologies."

"Watch your tone, young woman," McGonagall warned. "And that's Headmistress to you." With that, she swept into the house. "I should very much like to see your parents and get their say on the matter. Maybe they will set an example of respect for you to follow."

"Um… excuse me for sounding rude, but one can never be too cautious. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" McGonagall jumped. I let out a laugh. She just rolled her eyes, muttering, "Alastor…"

"Anyway, I figured it might be a good idea to just make absolutely sure you were the REAL Minerva McGonagall, and not an imposter."

"I see you are not willing to take any risks when it comes to security… very well. I believe a demonstration is in order?" With that, she turned into a cat.

I gaped. "How…? But that's not… You can't just… But physics!"

The cat straightened up into a woman once again, this time with the trace of a smile on her lips. "I am what is called an Animagus. After many long hours of intensive training, I have learned the ability to turn into an animal. My distinctive features have been registered with the Ministry, and you may have observed that the markings around the eyes of my cat-form match exactly with the Animagus description on file for Minerva McGonagall. You may check the official file at your convenience. Is that proof enough for you, Miss Sterling?"

"I- I think so, yes," I stammered. I declined to point out that the ability to suddenly turn into a cat was certainly enough to make me pay attention to whatever she had to say, regardless of markings or Ministry files. I had to find out more.

"_Now_ will you listen to me?" McGonagall said tiredly. I nodded my head. "Alright then," she began. "You are what is generally called a Muggleborn. This means-"

"That I'm a witch born from two Muggle parents?"

"...That is what I was about to say, yes. Please do not interrupt. Now, as I was saying, you are a witch, and as such you are invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We usually just send the letter by owl post if the young wizard has one or more magical parents, but in the case of Muggleborns, the families often need some… convincing. They have to come to terms with the existence of magic and the powers the child possesses. I'm sure that once I give them a demonstration, your parents will be happy to let you attend the most prestigious Wizarding school in Britain, if you so choose. That's why I'm here. I am a liaison from Hogwarts to welcome you to the Wizarding World."

I finally got my mouth to work. "That's awesome! Can I go to Diagon Alley to get my wand? Can I have an owl? Can first years be on the Quidditch team? Will it be dangerous? What house will I be in? When does the Hogwarts Express leave?"

McGonagall laughed. "I can see that you won't have any trouble fitting in."


	2. 2:00 PM -- Sept 1, on the train

2:00 PM - Sept. 1, on the Hogwarts Express

Why is there so much hate here? I mean, everyone on this train is a wizard. So far, though, all the compartments I've seen have been homogeneous, with members of only one house in each. I saw no companionship at all across students of different houses! I met a nice Gryffindor called Peter as I was walking up and down looking for a compartment. When we knocked on one of the doors, some Ravenclaws inside yelled at him, "Get lost, Lion!" The others jeered and made claw gestures at us.

"That wasn't very nice," I complained.

"You might want to get used to it," Peter said. "After the Battle of Hogwarts, the houses didn't have a common enemy anymore. We started having petty fights, and soon it turned in to this."

"So there's basically complete segregation between students of different houses?"

"I guess you could look at it that way."

"What if you have a friend in another house?"

"You don't. When you spend all your time with your fellow housemates, they start to be like your family. You know them better than anyone else in the school. Why would you want to be friends with somebody from a different house?"

"Well, don't they say that opposites attract? Slytherins and Gryffindors are like opposites. They both value power, but Slytherins would rather use it for personal achievement, while Gryffindors always try to protect others. Shouldn't they get along?"

Peter looked horrified. "A Slytherin and a Gryffindor get along? Are you mad? They would be at each other's throats in a second!"

"I just think it's sad that things turned out this way," I said. "Houses should be groups that bring people together, not tear them apart."  
"That's very poetic," Peter replied, "but I'd like to see YOU get a Gryffindor and a Slytherin to cooperate!"

"Maybe I will!" I said. "So there!"  
Peter just gave me a sad look, like he knew what I was going through and how I would eventually come to my senses.

"You'll see!" I repeated.

He sighed.

I finally found a compartment with some other first years, who hadn't been sucked into the rigid social structure of the Houses yet. I asked if I could sit with them. There were two students already there: a dark-haired, sharp looking boy and a tall blond girl.

"Sure," said the girl. "But don't say anything really stupid."

The boy snickered.

Not put off by this, I extended my hand to the girl. "I'm Eve. What's your name?"

"My name is Ellery Waters," the girl said with a slight sniff. "You're from America, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're right, she is," the boy cut in. "I'd know that silly accent anywhere. 'Oh my gawd, look at my shoes and my dress and my hair!'" he squealed, imitating a bratty American girl.

"Now Tristan," the girl warned, "don't be rude. She might be very bright. You never know."

"I guess you're right," Tristan conceded. "What really matters is her blood. What's your surname?"

"Sterling. Why do you ask?" I said. I was liking this conversation less every second.

"Never heard of you. Now, me, I'm Tristan Acer. Ring any bells?"

"Not really, sorry. I'm actually a Muggleborn. Not that it should matter," I said, rather defensively.

"Well, let me bring you up to speed, Sterling. The Acer family is famous for producing skilled dueling champions for decades. If you hear that name, you want to be on your guard, because you could be swimming in hexes before you can say 'Mudblood'."

"Excuse me," I put in, "I may not know much about the wizarding world yet, but I do know that Mudblood is a pretty offensive term for a Muggleborn. I'd appreciate it if you tried not to use that term."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tristan sneered. "I deeply apologize for offending your sensibilities. I wasn't even calling YOU a Mudblood anyway. It was just a word."

"Then how about you use 'Quidditch' next time," I suggested.

"Like you would know anything about that," he retorted.

"Actually, I know a fair amount. I think Quidditch is a fascinating game. The Hawkshead Attacking formation is one of my favorite tactics. Did you hear about how the Quiberon Quafflepunchers used it in the game against Bulgaria two weeks ago?"

Tristan looked quite taken aback. I grinned. My research had paid off.

"Quidditch is okay, I guess," Ellery said. "I personally prefer to fly for fun. I like doing tricks.

"I know a few," offered Tristan. "I bet you've never even flown on a broom before, Eve. You don't know what you've been missing."

"We could teach her," Ellery said. "How about it, Eve?"

"That sounds great!" I said. "I don't have my own broomstick, though. Is that okay?"

"Sure," said Ellery. "You can always use one of the school brooms from the shed. Maybe if you get good you can have a go on mine. But only if you're REALLY careful! I don't want it to get damaged."

"Thanks," I said. "I'm really going to look forward to that."

The door to the compartment slid open. "Hey guys!" said a boy with a round face and light brown hair. "Want some brownies?"

"Sure!" I said, but Tristan was not so keen.

"What have they got in them?" he asked, eying the tin suspiciously.

"Relax," Ellery told him. "I learned this spell to check for poison." She waved her wand over the tin and muttered an incantation. The outline of the box glowed green. "Perfectly fine," she concluded. "Now do you want any or not?"

The new boy was starting to look a little nervous, but he let us each take a brownie and then sat down next to me.

"I'm Thomas. What's your name?" he tried.

"My name is Eve," I said. "This is Tristan, and that's Ellery."

"Don't say anything really stupid!" Ellery cheerfully told him.

I glared at her. "She's just kidding," I said to Thomas.

"Who are you to say whether I am or am not kidding?" the girl shot back.

"Peace, guys," said Thomas. "I'll try not to be dumb, okay? I just wanted to meet some other first years. I toured some of the other compartments, but I only saw older students. Some of them weren't very nice, either."

"Yeah, tell me about it," I replied. "A Gryffindor and I walked in on some Ravenclaws, and they laughed at us and told us to go away."

"Well, you aren't technically a Ravenclaw yet," Elley mused. "Maybe it's like some sort of club you have to join before you can sit there."

"A club? I don't know if I'm good enough to get into any sort of club," said Thomas, with a worried look on his face.

"Don't worry about it," Ellery assured him. "You get into a house no matter what. It's just a question of which one you fit into best."

"Her sister's a third year now," Tristan explained.

"So what are the houses like?" I asked. I sort of knew the answer already, having read the adventures of a certain boy wizard when I was younger, but I wanted to hear it from some real live wizards. Besides, it might have changed since Harry's time; the House dynamic certainly had.

"So basically, Gryffindors are brave but kinda stupid, Ravenclaws are smart and awesome, Hufflepuffs are all happy-happy-nice-nice but they're also pretty dumb, and Slytherins are actually clever but some of them end up turning super evil," Ellery summed up.

"Really?" Thomas piped up. "I sat with some Hufflepuffs for a while, and they seemed pretty smart to me.

"Oh, they're not always unintelligent," Tristan said, "but they're morons when it comes to the pecking order. They're really trusting, so it's easy to get them to do what you want. At least that's what I've heard," he added.

"Well, I'm sure there are good things about every house, even if they do have flaws," I said. "Where do you think you'll end up?"

"Probably Slytherin," Ellery said. "I'm smart and ambitious. I don't want to be dumb, but I'm not a nerd either. I want to go somewhere in life. I want to be someone."

"You can do that no matter what house you're in," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but everyone knows Ravenclaws are losers."

"What if the hat puts you in Ravenclaw? What will you think then?"  
"Then I'll show that bunch of wimps what it means to be an eagle!" Ellery said with venom.

I decided it might be a good idea to move on. "What about you, Tristan?"  
"Definitely Slytherin," he said. "I have brains, but I also have the guts to use them."

I personally thought he had a pretty good shot at it, if I had to be completely honest. I couldn't shake the feeling that he would end up in the 'super-evil' category someday.

"I guess I would be a Hufflepuff," said Thomas. "I really like talking to people, and my friends say I'm a pretty nice guy. I'm not really brave, or smart, or ambitious."

"Then it sounds like Hufflepuff would be the perfect house for you," I said. Thomas smiled at me.

"You haven't told us what you would pick," he prompted.

I considered it for a moment. "I think I would be a Ravenclaw," I said. "I'm pretty smart, and I like learning things."

"Nerd," Ellery teased.

"Thank you. I take that as a compliment," I said. "Nerds are the ones who run the Muggle world nowadays. It's smart people who invented things like light bulbs and computers, stuff we use every day."

"Leave your muggle artifacts out of this," Tristan spat. "Are you a real wizard or not, Mu-"

Ellery put her hand on his shoulder as I stiffened.

"-ggle-born?" he finished.

"I'm just saying, being a nerd isn't a bad thing."

There was a pause. Everyone looked at me.

"Well, we'll just have wait and see what the Sorting Hat picks for us," Ellery said solemnly.

Just then, the snack lady came around with a cart full of candy. After a flurry of commerce, conversation stopped as we all dug in.


	3. 11:30 PM -- Sept 1, in the dorms

11:30 - Sept. 1, in the Gryffindor girls dormitory

This is all wrong. When I found out I would be going to Hogwarts, I thought I knew how it would go. I'd end up in Ravenclaw. I'd make lots of friends who were smart and awesome and liked the same things I did. I would live in harmony with the other students and learn powerful magic together as a community.

Boy, was I wrong.

The first thing they did when we got to the castle was Sort us into houses. Pretty symbolic, right? Unsurprisingly, almost all the big, tough kids who looked like bullies got Sorted into Slytherin. Oh well, I had already resigned myself to the proven stupidity of making a house just for terrible, manipulative people. You'd think they'd learn. Tristan got sorted into Slytherin, just like he expected. The Sorting Hat didn't really have to think about that one. It gave his verdict almost as soon as he put it on, shouting his new house to the Great Hall. When he reached the Slytherin table, he high-fived a few thuggish-looking first years that had already gotten there and sat down next to them. I could already tell he was thinking of making them his personal servants and bodyguards. Here comes the new Draco Malfoy. Oh joy of joys.

Next was Thomas. He looked a little green in the face. I didn't blame him: neither of us had any idea what putting on the sorting hat was like. Maybe it probed your darkest secrets and deepest fears. Maybe it asked you an impossible riddle. Maybe… "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the Hat. Thomas looked relieved. He walked over to the Hufflepuff table. Some nice-looking older students beckoned him over, patting him on the back and moving over on the long bench to make room for him. I was glad for my new friend. His housemates seemed friendly, and he looked happy and comfortable with them.

After some more students I didn't know, I was next. I crossed my fingers. Ravenclaw ravenclaw ravenclaw ravenclaw, I thought. I remembered how Harry had overruled the Hat's desire to put him in Slytherin just by wishing really hard. Ravenclaw ravenclaw ravenclaw…

The Sorting Hat's brim slipped over my eyes. I couldn't see anything at all. I tried not to panic. Ravenclaw ravenclaw ravenclaw…

[Hmmm…] said a voice in my head. I almost jumped in my seat. [A sharp mind, I see. You want to be in Ravenclaw, I can tell. But there is so much more to you than just brains, Eve Josephine Sterling.]

Would everyone just stop using my middle name? I really hate it, you know.

[Such boldness, such fiery spirit! I sense much bravery in you Eve. You could make use of that, in a certain house…]

No, not Gryffindor! I want to be in Ravenclaw, please put me in Ravenclaw…

[Let's see… I suppose I could put you in Slytherin… No, not enough malice. You may get on people's nerves, but you have a good heart.]

Gee, thanks. What a compliment.

[Listen to that right there. That defiance will take you places if you will only let it.]

No no no no no…

[Taking everything into consideration, I know just where to put you.]

No no no no-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I couldn't believe it. In a daze, my legs went on autopilot to guide me toward the Gryffindor table. A cheering mob of what I assumed to be reckless idiots descended upon their new cultist. I shrugged them off and hunched over, brooding on how this all could have gone so wrong. An older student smacked me on the shoulder a little too hard. "Welcome to the house of the Boy Who Lived, destroyer of the Dark Lord! Congratulations!"

"Harry Potter was an idiot. He only won out of sheer luck. I wouldn't be so proud if I were you," I snapped back.

The boy looked deeply offended. "I suppose you could have done better?" he demanded.

"Well I wouldn't have been so bloody stupid, to start with."

The older boy turned away in disgust. "If you think being a brainiac nerd is so great, you should have been in Ravenclaw. You don't belong here." He walked down to the other end of the table to sit with his friends. "Geez, why is she so uptight?" I heard one of them say.

I felt ashamed and lonely. I had insulted the greatest wizarding hero of my generation and ostracized myself from my own house in the same blow. I probably didn't belong in Gryffindor. I couldn't believe how badly I had screwed everything up. I suspected that maybe the Sorting Hat deliberately put me in the wrong house because I was giving it attitude. How did I always manage to annoy everyone I met?

I was so busy feeling sorry for myself that I almost missed Ellery's Sorting. The hat took a while to make a decision about her, and all the while my friend was gripping the edges of the stool like it was a life raft, her face scrunched up in concentration. I knew she wanted to be in Slytherin, and it was likely she was trying the same thing I did. [Well just look at how it turned out for me,] I wanted to shout. [Good luck.]

"RAVENCLAW!" yelled the Hat. Ellery tore it off in frustration and stalked over to the Ravenclaw table. The other Ravenclaws didn't quite know what to make of her, but it didn't matter anyway. Ellery just brushed them off and sat moping by herself. Nobody really knew how to approach her, so they just left her sitting there.

The Sorting Hat sorted the last few students into houses, and McGonagall got up to make a speech. I didn't hear a word of it. All I could think about was what a failure I was. I had annoyed the Sorting Hat, and it had put me in the wrong house. There was nothing I could do about it now. I was stuck forever with the rest of these morons.

The food suddenly appeared. The other students started serving themselves hearty helpings of all sorts of scrumptious dishes, but I didn't feel very hungry anymore. I served myself a dollop of mashed potatoes. They tasted like cardboard to me. I put my fork down, folded my hand on the table, and rested my head on them in a gesture of complete resignation.

"It's not that bad to be a Gryffindor, you know." A familiar voice sounded in my ear. I looked up and saw Peter, the second-year boy from the train. He was looking at me with concern. "I know that maybe this isn't the house you expected, but you'll learn to love it. We're not all morons around here." I blushed a deep red. Peter must have heard what I had said before. "Listen, Gryffindor is just a place for people who are confident enough to be themselves. Some of them are pretty smart, and they're not afraid to show it. Remember Hermione Granger? She was the best in the class, yet she still landed in Gryffindor. Being here doesn't mean you're reckless or stupid. You just have the courage to express yourself."

I didn't want to admit it, but I was starting to feel a little bit better. "Are you sure?" I asked. "You really think there are nerds in Gryffindor?"

Peter leaned in. "Want to join my Thursday night D&amp;D campaign?" he murmured in my ear. "We could really use a cleric or a druid."

I grinned. "I'd love to," I said, and helped myself to some of the amazing British specialties arranged before me.

As darkness fell, I sank back into despair as I realized that all of my first-year friends had been stolen away from me, stolen into other houses. According to other Gryffindors, I couldn't hand out with the "birdbrain" Ravenclaws, the "evil" Slytherins, or the "cowardly" Hufflepuffs. Everybody assured me I'd find new, better friends within my own house, but I didn't feel so certain. The other first years in the common room seemed thoroughly engaged in tossing magic playing cards into the hearth and cheering when they exploded. Not really the kind of crowd I wanted to hang out with.

I crawled into my four-poster, suddenly realizing how far I was from home. There was a whole ocean between me and my family. I was in an enchanted castle with other witches and wizards, but I couldn't even point to where I was on a map. I had no idea how to get home even if I wanted to. I was alone among people much stronger and braver than me. I didn't know what would come next, and I didn't know if I was ready to handle them.

Tears trickled down my cheeks, shimmering silently in the dark room. I couldn't make a sound, couldn't let anyone hear me cry. I was a Gryffindor now, and I had to be brave. I rocked back and forth, my chest tightening as I held in my sobbing. I cried and cried until I couldn't cry any more, and then I sat down and began to write.

This is a nightmare. Hogwarts cannot survive if it remains divided into four fragments called Houses. There must be some way to bring all the students together, no matter how they were sorted. I had to see my friends again. I would do it. I must. For Hogwarts… and for me.

With those thoughts, I lay down and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	4. 12:30 PM -- Sept 4, in the dorms

United We Stand

Chapter 4

12:30 PM - Sept. 4, in the Gryffindor girls dormitory

"Yes, please," Ellery said desperately when I brought up a way to possibly unite the houses. "I'm sorry, but Ravenclaws are just BORING! They may be smart, but they don't DO anything with it! I want to plot, to get up to something, you know?" We were sitting on the grounds in a spot that Tristan claimed you couldn't see from any of the windows. We had sneaked out after quickly finishing our lunches. Hey, no one had ever said we couldn't!

"Yeah, well, you get plenty of plots in Slytherin." Tristan grinned. Ellery glared at him.

"Don't tease," I scolded. "The point is, the houses are so divided. They bully each other, ridicule each other..."

"Prank each other," said Tristan. He grinned again, more evilly this time.

"Yeah. We came back to our common room last night to find it covered in pink slime, with a huge note saying 'Love, Slytherin' posted on the fireplace. The teachers couldn't figure out who did it, and the Slytherins argued that it could have been one of the other houses PRETENDING to be Slytherin, so nothing happened. The mess got cleaned up by Professor Longbottom and he told us to ignore the prank, that they were just trying to 'get our goat', whatever that means.

"It means 'annoy you'", I said.

"Huh, must be a Muggle thing," Thomas mused. "Anyway, I'd rather not go through that again."  
"This is what I mean. The houses are so divided that they'll go to any means to get at each other."

"As long as they don't get caught," Tristan added.

"Shut up," Ellery told him.

"Guys, we have an opportunity here," I said. "What if we made a group of students from all the houses who would all get along? If we got enough attention, maybe others would follow our example."

"Hey, that sounds nice," said Thomas. His face looked a little brighter. "Then we could get together more often and not have to sneak around, and we might not get pranked as much."

"Good luck, losers," said Tristan. "I'm not getting involved with anything THAT badly doomed to fail."

"Well, we should totally do it, but that's not really why," Ellery said. "We should do it because that way when it becomes a big thing, all of us will have more power than most first years have because we'll be the leaders of this group."

"And you'll have a chance to make more friends!" said Thomas.

"We'll make fliers," I said. "Anyone know how to mass-produce them here at Hogwarts?"

"I'm sure one of my nerd friends knows," said Ellery. "I'll ask."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal," said Tristan, sneering. "If you get one, even just one other member outside of us four to join this thing, I'm in. But until you do, I have license to laugh at you all without getting told off."

"I'd say yes to that. We WILL make it work. What about you two? Can he laugh at you, but just until we get one other member?" I asked.

"Fine," Ellery said. "We'll show him. Won't we?" She turned to Thomas.

"I guess," he said.

"All right," I said. "Let's do this."

* * *

This plan has not gone as well as I thought it would. We made the fliers, alright, and made them well: I thought of a gimmick to add that might make it more appealing. I actually kind of stole it from the Magic: The Gathering set Khans of Tarkir, where each of the clans is represented by a part of a dragon. None of us wanted anyone else's house to be the Heart of the Dragon, even though I thought Gryffindor should take that one. Everyone said it was the best one, and no one could agree on who should have it. We chose Gryffindor to be the Flame of the Dragon, Ravenclaw to be the Claws, Slytherin the Tail, and Hufflepuff the Wings. Thomas is a good artist, so he drew us a dragon symbol. Ellery wrote up the text of the flyer, then got help from a fellow Ravenclaw to reproduce it lots of times. She reported that she had had a hard time getting anyone to agree to do it, though many knew how. At best, they had said, it was a lost cause, and at worst it would cause Ravenclaw to be the target of more venom than usual. But in the end she found somebody, and the flyers got made.

Our flyers were great. The only problem: no one wanted to join our Inter-House Society. Barely anyone even took a flyer, and those who did soon tossed them away in disgust. Apparently they wanted nothing to do with any sort of cooperation between houses. It seems like this is going to be harder than we expected. But I'm not giving up. I won't let Tristan laugh at us or eternity.


End file.
